GAZA, Palestine – “My message to the world is how important it is to strengthen the role of youth in societies, and to invest in their potential,” said twenty-three-year old Sarah Al Shamali, from Gaza City.

A volunteer with local NGO the Sharek Youth Forum in Gaza, Ms. Al Shamali is currently displaced for the ninth time and lives in a crowded refugee camp. Before the latest eruption of violence she ran her own media and graphic design company, where she honed the leadership skills she is now teaching to hundreds of her fellow Gazans.

“I was motivated to alleviate the suffering of Gaza’s citizens,” she told UNFPA, the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency. “I want to show the world that no circumstances will extinguish the lifeline of hope for our young people.”

Ms. Al Shamali and her colleagues are providing practical support, from educational programmes to distributing safe water in displacement camps, and cultivating a spirit of solidarity among Gaza's youth. 

She described her experience as a volunteer as “transformative,” explaining that it has helped her to navigate crises, strengthened her resilience and confirmed her belief in the potential of future generations, “because young people embody the soul and energy of our country.” 

Catalysts for change

Some 1.9 million people are currently displaced in Gaza, many of them already multiple times. Most are living in temporary, insecure and unsanitary shelters, vastly increasing their exposure to diseases and gender-based violence yet with scarce access to even the most basic health care.

A UNFPA-supported youth programme launched in December 2023 has so far engaged almost 1,000 volunteers to assist more than 90,000 young people across Gaza. Funded by Education Above All, the initiative offers psychological counselling, stress relief activities, support for survivors of gender-based violence, and essential supplies and advice during public health campaigns.

Such efforts are essential – not only to meet the immediate psychosocial needs of young people, but also to equip conflict- and trauma-affected youth with skills to rebuild a more peaceful future. Studies from conflict- and post-conflict settings show that community-, peer- and survivor-led community support programmes can significantly improve the health and well-being of women and young people who are vulnerable to violence.

Ms. Al Shamali described being struck by the creativity young people showed in meeting the needs of their communities, such as building clay ovens and setting up temporary educational spaces. “The most valuable investment lies in empowering them as the owners of their ideas, initiatives and projects – they can find solutions to society's challenges, as leaders, innovators, and as our future.”

The volunteers have also distributed essential menstrual hygiene and sanitary supplies to women and girls, rebuilt classrooms, and installed bathrooms and solar panels in displacement camps. 

Youth resilience amid war in Gaza 

“Children are experiencing what I endured in my youth – pain, siege and war,” said Ahmed Halabi. “No child should suffer like this.”

Mr. Halabi, 26, was born and raised in Gaza City and now volunteers with local NGO and UNFPA partner Save Youth Future Society. He channels his own childhood experience living under Israeli occupation into designing youth-led initiatives that provide psychological support, primarily for children, teenagers and women.

Psychological services are critical in Gaza, where 1 million children now require this support. Reports of gender-based violence are rising in Gaza city and the north, as services shutter and staff are forced to flee constant attacks and insecurity. The traumas and disruptions of conflict are known to exacerbate gender-based violence, and although difficult to ensure during ongoing hostilities, community support structures can help prevent this damaging ripple effect. One initiative encourages young men and boys to assume positive gender roles in their families and lessen their stress and anger by playing sport, such as football. Doctors also dress up as clowns to visit children and provide first aid, while local NGOs the Charity Fund and Eid Lantern distribute gifts and lanterns for Eid – a commitment to restoring some sense of normality amid the chaos of war.

“We saw the happiness among the children, the laughter – as if a spark of hope had returned to their eyes: The parents too would watch their children with smiles and joy.” 

What began with 10 volunteers assisting 50 children has now expanded to 40 volunteers reaching over 300. Working with young people helps to foster social cohesion, as learning to lead community initiatives can reduce stress and prevent violence, provide an outlet for their energy and emotions, and teach teamwork and communication. 

A safe space for the future

In the south of Gaza, gender-based violence referrals have been reestablished and some services are running, but extraordinary challenges remain – namely a lack of fuel, exorbitant rental and operational costs and a severe lack of supplies.

To help plug these gaps, UNFPA is supporting six safe spaces in displacement camps in Gaza City and northern Gaza, which provide psychosocial support, sexual and reproductive health care, referrals for legal services and essential hygiene kits. Youth volunteers at these spaces engage other young people in arts and crafts, sport, singing, theatre and games.

Although themselves traumatized by the suffering of their families, friends and fellow Gazans, those working in these roles are carrying on, relentless in their dedication.

“If you ask me about my biggest gains from this volunteering, I would say everything I have been able to provide to the displaced children of my city,” said Ahmed.